Considering San Antonio for relocation (Austin, Orange: fit in, hotel, homes)

[eribear]

Hi everyone,
My husband and I are in our early 30s, and last year relocated from Madison, WI to Orange County, CA for my job (biotech). While I like my job, we are just not finding Orange county to be for us, The sprawl, traffic, weird people, and insane cost of living isn't for us. The racism towards immigrants is horrible, as is the use of cheap labor to do everything you are too lazy to do! I can wash my own car and take care of my own lawn! Other than the weather, I'm seriously unhappy here! We won't be moving until at least one of us has a job (me-biotech quality management, husband-IT systems admin)

We want to live somewhere where we can afford to buy a nice, unique home in the 400-600k range (3bed, 2000 sqft-ish), start a family, and have the feeling of a community. I want to be able to send my kids (once I have them!) to public school.

So, based on that, do you think San Antonio might be a good place to consider? What neighborhoods should I look at that would fit into our budget? Also, how bad is everyones commute? Obviously I don't know where I would be working, but I'm just trying to get some ideas.

In addition to San Antonio, we are considering Austin and Atlanta, though are very open to suggestions.

thanks everyone!

[BamaSailor]

You should check realtor.com to see some San Antonio home prices. MUCH cheaper than Californing. Check indeed.com for job listings by salary or keyword. Southwest Biomedical Research Center among others may be a good employment option for you. Lots of IT jobs too. Microsoft and Lowes are working on data centers; Rackspace has openings. Many other company possibilities.

[firstclassflyer]

Here you go..check it out. Good luck. Si hablo Espanol?

http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-a...index-san.html

[majormadmax]

We love SA, retiring here from the military.

Just a few observations, you will probably find salaries for your professions here to be comparatively low to where you are now; but factor in the cost-of-living and you will most likely find it is better here.

Secondly, racism isn't really a factor here with a predominantly Hispanic population; and honestly as a non-Hispanic I never found being a minority an issue. However, there is still a lot of cheap labor in this area so don't think you'll escape that here. But it seems to exist everywhere. And you don't have to speak Spanish to survive, it helps but it isn't necessary.

We have found the schools to be pretty good and we're happy with the education our kids are getting.

I think most San Antonians commute about a half-hour or so, but rush hour traffic is an issue due to the rapid expansion this city has seen. The infrastructure has yet to catch up, and commuters pay the price. Plus, there really isn't much of a mass transit system here outside of the buses.

Austin is nice as well, but has it's issues as well; as does Atlanta. I was stuck for one night in Atlanta last month, and to be honest I don't like it as much as I used to. I had been there a few times before, but this last experience has put me off of that city.

Austin is more "progressive" but also more expensive. You may have an easier time finding employment up there but the cost of living is much higher and commuting even worse than SA.

Have you considered any other cities? My brother-in-law lives in Raleigh-Durham and has been trying to get me to take a job there for a while because my first grad degree is in IT, but we love SA too much to leave here. Plus, I have a well-paying job as a government contractor, and when you add my military retirement and disability compensation on top of that, we can enjoy a comfortable life here.

As for neighborhoods, there are tons to choose from. Some of the nicer, more historic areas are closer to downtown; while the north and northwest parts of town are growing the fastest. You'll have to do some research as to figure which area fits your needs best.

That's just one man's opinion, I hope it helps!

Cheers! M2

[Made_it_To_the_Metroplex]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

Austin is nice as well, but has it's issues as well; as does Atlanta. I was stuck for one night in Atlanta last month, and to be honest I don't like it as much as I used to. I had been there a few times before, but this last experience has put me off of that city.

I have to agree about Atlanta. It's just not the "emerald city" it used to be (apologies to fans of Seattle). I lived there in the '80's and have visited regularly since then, but it just seems to get grittier and less well-kept each time. Unless you're in a VERY expensive place (store, restaurant, hotel, etc), don't expect much in the way of "service" anywhere.

[Bo]

Originally Posted by eribear

horrible, as is the use of cheap labor to do everything you are too lazy to do!

This excerpt jumped out at me as a potential sticking point. There is plenty of "cheap labor" used and available in San Antonio. You need to be aware that you won't be getting away from that here, if that is something that you find objectionable.

[eribear]

Atlanta is lower on my list, I'm concerned the traffic and size isn't really what we are looking for. I thought about research triangle NC, but it looks to be a little small town for us. I know they have a great biotech industry there, but from what I've read it doesn't seem like a good match. I already moved once to a place I doubted and am not willing to risk it again! We have to be sure wherever we are moving is right for us!

The Austin forum people suggested I check out San Antonio, due to the biotech/healthcare job market, and because it was less sprawled. When we looked at homes there online it seemed like there were a lot in the price range. Also, when compared to SoCal, its very relative! Everything is so much more here than in WI.... We make a very good income, but have so little to show for it, and its rather depressing. I would guess we could make 20% less and still net quite a bit more.

I don't speak Spanish, other than a couple of key words/phrases. Crazy me, I spent years taking French in high school and college... I pretty much work with all non-white people now, and its not an issue for me to be different.

Thanks everyone for your advice, I really appreciate it.